Initially, I was very excited about the toy train ride but as soon as the Delhi Shatabdi arrived at Kalka, my dreams began to shatter.

First, we were travelling in a large contingets. Five adults (including an old maid) & four children. So that meant plenty of luggage & as there were very few coolies, they were asking for astronomical amounts to carry the luggage to the toy-train platform which is a little ahead of the one on which the Shatabdi arrives. So, we barely managed to lug all our luggage and stuff it in the car before the train chugged out. The view, though fantastic, the journey became tedious after an hour (it took the train 5 hours to Shimla). Later on, we realised, that the train we took had ordinary sitting compartments, there was another morning train which had better seating. By the time the train reached Shimla, we were quite exhausted & decided to take a taxi on our way down.

BTW, while booking via internet on the Indian Railways website, type Simla not Shimla to get the destination station.

Originally Posted by ashvin30Initially, I was very excited about the toy train ride but as soon as the Delhi Shatabdi arrived at Kalka, my dreams began to shatter.

First, we were travelling in a large contingets. Five adults (including an old maid) & four children. So that meant plenty of luggage & as there were very few coolies, they were asking for astronomical amounts to carry the luggage to the toy-train platform which is a little ahead of the one on which the Shatabdi arrives. So, we barely managed to lug all our luggage and stuff it in the car before the train chugged out. The view, though fantastic, the journey became tedious after an hour (it took the train 5 hours to Shimla). Later on, we realised, that the train we took had ordinary sitting compartments, there was another morning train which had better seating. By the time the train reached Shimla, we were quite exhausted & decided to take a taxi on our way down.

BTW, while booking via internet on the Indian Railways website, type Simla not Shimla to get the destination station.